Whispering Vengeance
by Alice Hudson
Summary: Young Albus Potter is about to start his first year at Hogwarts. There, he will meet new friends and find new adventures. However, how will he cope when a menacing figure threatens the lives of himself and his friends and family all in the name of revenge? WARNING: Contains OCs and old friends combined. No romance decided yet, Rated T just in case.
1. An Unexpected Sorting

**A/N: I don't own the Harry Potter series, the only things I own are the plot in this fan fiction and all the characters besides Albus Potter, Rose Weasley, James Potter, Luna Longbottom, Neville Longbottom, Horace Slughorn, Scorpio Malfoy, Harry Potter, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, Ginny, in fact the whole Weasley clan, the sweets lady, Hagrid, Voldemort, and some other characters that may mentioned along the way, like Crabb. Also, since this is based on the films, what happened between Neville and Luna wasn't shown, if I got my facts dreadfully wrong, don't be afraid to tell. **

I look out of the train's window as the spot my father occupied shrinks to the point of vanishing. I think of what he said to me, about being named after two Hogwarts headmasters, one of who not only being a Slytherin, but someone my dad's come to admire. _Perhaps it wouldn't be so bad being put into Slytherin_ my mind reassures me, but I know otherwise. I've heard plenty of horror tales of the students who got placed into that house. It's full to the brim of bullies and future Lord Voldemorts. I sigh at the thought of being placed into such a house.

"Albus? Are you alright?" Rose asks from beside me. Rose and her mom, my Aunt Hermione, had made an agreement that for this year, Rose will be my shadow, acting as my best friend and protector. Our parents have always been cautious, especially with Hogwarts. Don't get me wrong, they still love the place, but they're still afraid a lot might still go wrong.

"I'm fine, Rose," I reply, returning her worried look with a smile. This will be my first of seven years in Hogwarts. I just hope I find myself in the right house.

Rose notices that I am all but fine, and so, with the help of my older brother, James, they work together to try and cheer me up.

"Hey, Al! Check this out!" James says enthusiastically as he whips out his wands and a feather and turns said feather into a big, hairy spider. Rose immediately leaps out of her seat and screams.

"James! You _know _I hate spiders! Get rid of it! Get rid of it!"

"Aw, but look at this little guy! Do you really want me to kill it? It just wants to be your friend. Look! I think it wants a hug!" My brother says as he holds the spider towards Rose, who screams, backing away until she hits the window.

"James! I said get. Rid. Of it."

"Fine, fine. Spoilsport." And with that, James turns the spider back into its original form, as I sit there, already feeling much better. That's what these two do to you, they make you feel miles better without you even catching on.

"Thanks, guys," I say, still smiling after the show they just put on.

"Hey, your welcome, Al," James replies, smiling back at me as he puts his wand back where it came from. Rose takes the opportunity to try another tactic by talking to me.

"Albus, are you afraid of what house you might be placed in? Is that why you're so nervous?"

"Yeah," I say, eyes downcast as she places her hand comfortingly on my shoulder.

"Look, Albus, I'm sure we _all _feel that way, or at least I do." She smiles encouragingly at me.

"Yeah," James continues on. "Besides, you're bound to be a Gryffindor, afterall, mom was one, dad was one, and pretty much everyone in our family's been a Gryffindor, so you've got nothing to be afraid of."

"Thanks James." And I mean that. James always knew how to make me feel better.

"Your welcome, Al. Now, let's talk about all the things we look forward to in Hogwarts."

We did this to pass time for a couple of hours until the sweets lady came along.

"Anything off the trolly dears?" We all swarm to the door and look hungrily at the sweets filled trolly. Dad had told us about the trolly and the mountains of sweets it holds, he even gave us each some money specifically for this moment.

"Trust me," he'd said as he handed us the sweets money. "You'll thank me when she comes." Thank you, dad.

We ended up buying two each of everything, except the chocolate frogs. We bought twenty of those with two galleons each for the return trip.

"Not Merlin again," Rose huffs as she opened her frog only to receive her twenty eighth Merlin.

"Yeah, that's starting to get just a little ridiculous," I mutter as I open my third chocolate frog. What I get makes me grin.

"What is it, Albus?" Rose asks as she tosses her Merlin card onto the floor.

"It's dad," I show them the card.

"Heh. So it is. So far the only one in our family that I've got is Uncle George." James says, as we all chuckle with him. We all love Uncle George, but from what dad tells us, when his brother was alive, they were the funniest in the entire school. From what dad says, Fred and George were as close as anything, and after Uncle Fred's death, he's never been the same again.

"So," James finally says once we've eaten all we can eat. "We've got another three to four hours to kill. Want to, I don't know... Go on an adventure?" Both me and Rose shake our heads, grins firm on our faces, though. That's James for you, always wanting to go on some new adventure.

"No, thanks. I think we'll have plenty of adventures in Hogwarts," I say, still grinning.

"Oh, come on! Trust me, you don't go on all that many adventures, unless you call _learning _an 'adventure.'"

"Learning is always an adventure," Rose counters. James just simply rolls his eyes.

"Whatever. _I'm _going, whether you are or not." And with that, he stood up and left for greener pastures, or in this case over crowded compartments.

"Adventure," I snort, shaking my head. James has always been the rebel in the family, always causing mischief with a smile on his face.

For about an hour it was just me and Rose in that one compartment, talking about everything we know about magic, which is depressingly little, considering we both have world famous super wizards and witches for parents.

We were just discussing potions and its link to herbology when a knock sounded at the compartment door. It opens just as we turn to look, revealing a boy with light brown hair, a chubby face and what looks like second hand clothes.

"Hey, is it alright if I sit with you guys?" He mutters.

"Oi, fatso! Come here! I've got some nice, juicy chocolate cake to shove down your fat gob!" The poor boy flinches at the insults and looks at us desperately.

"Alright," Rose says, taking mercy on him. "You can join us." The boy is thrilled, he immediately enters, not needing to be told twice, with his belongings trailing behind him.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" He says as he sits down, bags still in hand. "They were threatening to steal my things! I just _had _to get out!" He explains. Me and Rose both nod, well those boys _must _be going in Slytherin.

"What's your name?" Rose asks politely once the boy's settled down.

"Err, Cancerius Crabb," he replies, turning red with embarrassment. I nod my head slowly.

"Yeah, my dad told me he knew a guy named Crabb..." I'm not trying to imply that he's evil and conniving, it's just an observation, but Rose still shoots me a look.

"I-I'm not like my father! Honest! In fact they all say I'm more like my mother, Mila Crabb!" He stammers, visibly shaking with fear that he'll have more than his weight to be teased with.

"Don't worry, I'm not saying that you're like your mom or dad, it was just an observation," I say in an attempt to calm him. It seems to work, until the compartment door opens up, making him jump.

"Hey guys!" James says, his need for adventure answered to and cared for for now. "Who's chubby?" Rose and I roll our eyes as Cancerius looks close to tears again.

"Five minutes until we reach Hogsmeade! If you are not already in your Hogwarts robes, get dressed now! Make sure that any owls or other cage confined animals are in their cages, and make sure everything's in your bags. Bags and belongings will be taken to the castle separately. If you are ready, just sit tight and enjoy your Hogwarts year." When the announcer finished speaking, me, Rose, James and Rus (he says he'd prefer it if we called him Rus) were already packed up and ready for Hogwarts.

"You've got no animal?" James asks Rus, confused. Rus' eyes suddenly go wide.

"Lobs!" He cries as he runs out of the compartment, calling, "Lobster! Here boy!"

"He really called his pet Lobster?" James asked, staring at the door, eyebrow raised.

"Looks like," Rose answers as she checks her bag to make triple sure she's got everything.

Five minutes later, Rus returns with Lobster, a pretty black owl, just as we pull into Hogsmeade station.

"He was a farewell gift from nan," he says proudly as the announcer returns, this time announcing our arrival and where we first years need to go.

"I'm nervous," I whisper, barely audible as I stare at the door, but still Rose's hand squeezes mine reassuringly and still Rus makes a whimpering sound before nodding his head to the point of it nearly flying off.

"Don't worry, Al. I'm sure it'll be just fine," James reassures me as he walks to where the older years are waiting to exit the train, leaving me, Rose and Rus. Taking a deep breath, I join the other first years.

We all step out into the cold, dark night, and are greeted with an old family friend.

"Over here first years! Gather 'round, gather 'round!" It's Hagrid, one of dad's dearest friends from his time at Hogwarts.

"Hey, Hagrid!" I call, waving to him. He grins and waves back before waving us towards him. Finally, when we are all grouped in front of him, he leads us to the lake.

"Hope yer don' all get sea sick!" He calls as he gestures towards the boats. There are a mixture of groans and gasps of excitement from the people around us, me being one of the groaning students. I hate boats. I've got a long history of throwing up while in boats and planes, even cars sometimes. But boats? There's no 'sometimes' about it. I always feel ill while at sea... or lake... Hesitantly I step into the thing, glaring when starts to wobble under my weight.

"I hate you," I sneer at the boat, it merely wobbles more in response.

"Come on, Albus, just this once," Rose says from behind me. She knows about my hatred towards boats, but it's obvious she's getting more than a little impatient.

"How would _you _like it if someone told you to ride a spider?" I reply, she shuts up after that.

Finally, all three of us are safe in the damned boat, or as safe as you could be, and we are sailing across the lake magically.

"Aw, it looks so beautiful!" Rose says from beside me, looking around at the trees, the night sky, the castle drawing nearer. I huff.

"Yeah. Beautiful." Rose just simply rolls her eyes and continues admiring the view of what's to be our new home for the next seven years.

"You better get used to it, Albus, because this is the view you'll be staring at for the next few years. Enjoy it while you still can," she lectures. I just roll my eyes and huff yet again.

"Enjoy the view. How can I enjoy the view when I feel like throwing up all over it?" Now it's her turn to roll her eyes.

"Child," is her only response.

Finally, at long last, after what felt like _hours_ of feeling green, we _finally _reach the castle. Finally. At the steps of the grand, majestic structure ( 'cause I _did _have enough time to admire it even while trying to keep the sweets down), there stands an elderly man, patiently waiting for us to finally reach him. He smiles at each of us, before finally introducing himself.

"Hello, first years! I am Professor Slughorn, now if you will come with me, you will be sorted momentarily," and with that, he leads us all into the castle, and into a room where we all just about fit before telling us to wait as he walked through the doors into the great hall. I look over to Rose nervously, she just smiles at me serenely. I just keep reminding myself what dad said about Slytherin.

_"You were named after two headmasters of Hogwarts. One of them was a Slytherin, and the greatest man I know."_

Dad used to tell me stories of my two namesakes, his favourite being the tale of Severus Snape, an unsung hero, so dad calls him. Everybody knows of Severus Snape as the one who brought hell to Hogwarts, but dad specifically told me, when I was young, of all Snape had lost in order to successfully creep behind the Dark Lord's back. He'd tell me of my grandmother, and how he had loved her perhaps as much as my grandfather had, he'd tell me about what he saw in Snape's memories, and the guilt he, my dad, had felt over thinking of Severus Snape as the bad guy all this time, not realizing the truth...

He had sacrificed so much... perhaps Slytherins aren't _all_ that bad...

Professor Slughorn returns, gesturing for us to enter the great hall. I follow him like as if I were in a dream, like all this wasn't truly happening, because surly it _can't _be happening. I just keep reminding myself over and over again about the school itself, that no matter where I end up, it's a privilege to be here. I find myself staring at the table where the teachers sit, already choosing the ones I ought to go to first if someone starts picking at me or bullying me for whatever reason. I know Professor Longbottom, he used to be in my father's year, and is apparently a rather talented herbologist. I know Professor Flitwick, who's still teaching charms it looks like... and... Luna, married to Professor Longbottom, is a close friend of my dad's and helped during the battle that Voldemort had started on these very grounds. Luna, from what I hear, chose to teach divination, as over the years after what had happened in Hogwarts, it has grown as a sort of fascination for her. Other than that, I'm not entirely sure of the others, apart from that ghost teacher, who dad frequently joked about, I think his name's Professor... Bean? Yeah, I think that's it... But from what dad says, he could easily bore my bullies to death. Yeah, safe and sound...

Finally we reach the end of the room in front of the teacher's table, where a stool and a tattered old hat lies. Slughorn tells us of the procedures, he calls our name out, we step forward, put the hat on, sit on the stall, get placed into a house, place hat on the stool again and run to our house table. Simple, really.

"Don't be afraid if the sorting hat takes longer than usual to determine your house, as some sortings may take longer than others. Right, so first in the list: "Abbot, Richy!" Richy Abbot, a terrified looking boy, shakily made his way to the hat. He placed it on his head, took a deep breath and... nothing. An entire minute went past until finally, "HUFFLEPUFF!" A large round of applause erupted, while I simply got more and more nervous. The names flew by too fast, "Beacon, Rimney," Ravenclaw, "Creevey, Celeste," Gryffindor, "Crabb, Cancerius," I smiled encouragingly at the nervous boy, who nervously placed the hat on his head. "SLYTHERIN!" He looked shocked, but I guess it just proves not all Slytherins are evil backstabbers, I just get the vibe Rus isn't like that. More and more names are read out. "Lock, Dorothia, " it took 5 minutes for her to be sorted, within which there seemed to be an argument between her and the hat, before finally "SLYTHERIN!", "Malfoy, Scorpius," well, there's a familiar name. Slytherin, of course. "Monty,Charlie," Gryffindor, "Nigel, River," Ravenclaw, "Nocturne, Star," Gryffindor and finally, "Potter, Albus!" Slughorn called. As I step up to the seat, all eyes turn on me. I put on the sorting hat. Almost immediately, a whispering can be heard beside my ear.

"Ah, you must be another one of Potter's boys. The power, the potential, it seems to run in your blood. You could be placed anywhere, really. You have the desire to learn, the ambition is also there, you have courage, skill, and the need to prove that you are not your father, but just as brave and noble as him. The need to be remembered. You could be placed in any house... Ravenclaw will do you well, show you what you could learn, place you with others who desire and want to improve. Or I could place you in Hufflepuff, where you will be surrounded by supportive friends who will cheer you on and encourage you every step of the way. Or perhaps you could be in Gryffindor," my heart skips and I find myself whispering pleas to be in that house. "Gryffindor, where your bravery will be rewarded, where you be great and with others of the same level of courage, curiosity, where they will fight for you and probably even win, and why? Because you are family. But then there are the Slytherins." My hands tighten to fists and I shake my head. "Please, boy, let me continue. They will also be like a family to you, they could teach you more ways with magic, ways to fight and ways to survive..." _What does he mean by 'ways to survive'? _"Hmmm... this is a very tricky choice, but I say that to me, the best place for you right now would be..." _Not Slytherin, not Slytherin, not Slytherin, _"SLYTHERIN!"


	2. Home Sweet Home

**A/N: So while I was researching for who the next Hogwarts headmaster/mistress should be, I realized that I _may _have spelled Crabbe's name wrong (as in there's meant to be an 'e' at the end of it) but oh well, I'll correct that for later chapters. Also, before I _had_ decided to myself to write a new chapter every weekend, but then I realized how impatient _I'd _be if I were in the readers' shoes, so for now it's whenever I feel like it with a week long break maximum.**

The whole room turns silent, and I turn pale. I said not Slytherin. Dad had told me that the sorting hat takes people's words into account... so why am I in Slytherin?!

Slowly, like as if I'm heading for my death, I walk towards the Slytherin table, where they all clap mockingly. Slow, loud, sarcastic claps can be heard ringing throughout the hall.

"Hey! Potter! Welcome to the dark side!" Someone on the Slytherin table calls out, and everybody starts laughing. I sit next to Rus, who thankfully chose a seat that has nobody sitting either side of him for a couple of seats.

"Hey, Albus," He mutters miserably.

"Hey, Rus," I mumble back, just as miserable.

I barely notice the others getting sorted, I catch Rose's eye as she walks to the sorting hat. She looks about as miserable as I feel. She, of course, made it to Gryffindor, and though she should be happy about it, she just keeps looking at me with fear and worry, confusion and guilt. I know exactly how she feels. I'm just as confused as she is.

Then the Headmistress of Hogwarts stood up. Penelope Clearwater is said to have attended Hogwarts herself about two decades ago in Ravenclaw. She was a few years above my dad in Hogwarts, apparently Uncle Percy dated her at one point, I guess she looks pretty enough, so I can't really judge him.

"Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we eat, there are a few announcements I must first bring to your attention. As with every year, the Dark Forest is, of course, forbidden. Mister Filch has asked me to announce also that the boy's toilets on the second floor, left hand side is off limits due Myrtle deciding to be a social butterfly and throw a rather large party in there, inviting half the school's ghosts along. Do not fear, though, the toilets shall be fixed soon enough. Also the basement is still off limits due to the dragon infestation, so if any of you have any lessons in that particular area, you will receive a notice as to where you should go. Now, as the Muggles say, bon appetite!"

Suddenly great mountains of food appear before my very eyes, platters holding lamb, chicken, roasts, peas, carrots, mash, everything you could think of to put on your Sunday dinner. My mood lightens quite a fair bit at such a glorious sight.

"Wow," Rus breathes as he stares at the food. Talk immediately starts back up again throughout the great hall, and I begin to help myself to something to eat.

"Wow!" I exclaim as I take a large bite out of a chicken drumstick. "It just melts in the mouth..."

"You should try the carrots," Rus mumbles dreamily through a full mouth. I've never been a huge fan of veg, but I must say, no matter how reluctant I am to eat them, eating them was still pure bliss.

"So," Rus says a few minutes later, mouth still full. "Are you really Harry Potter's son?" I nod before swallowing my food (though a bit reluctantly).

"Yeah... But I'm still like every other kid. I barely know any spells right now, but then again, dad does say that he used to be the exact same when it came to spells..." I never liked to brag, so when people ask about my parents and start saying, "Gosh, blimey, you're Harry Potter's son, aren't you?!," it can get a bit awkward as you repeat the same old "I'm just like everyone else" phrase.

After a fairly awkward silence, talk along the table began to get interesting.

"So... Lykas, is it?" one person asks across the table to an particularly sly looking Slytherin. The Slytherin in question lifts his head towards the one asking in acknowledgment.

"I hear your the big guy in this tattered, old, sorry excuse of a building," the Slytherin continues, smirking at Lykas, who merely narrows his eyes.

"I wouldn't call it me being the 'big guy.' Only me knowing what I want and when I want it," he replies in a voice that could glide on water. The immediate impression I get off this guy was that whatever his reputation is, it has nothing to do with strength. He's not exactly scrawny, but he's not bulging with muscle either, and the way he smirks and his eyes glint as if plotting something says it all. This guy's a thinker. He gets what he wants through persuasion, coercion, or if neither work, then through trickery. He also appears to be a couple of years older than me, just old enough to earn a name for himself...

"What are _you_ looking at Potter?" the Slytherin beside Lykas asks. "Hey, Penance, I think he fancies you!" Lykas Penance turns to look at me like as if I were something he found on the bottom of his shoe.

"Is that so, Potter?" He asks smugly, raising an eyebrow at me. I immediately scrunch my face up. _Slytherins! _I decide not to argue, though, or else they'd find something else to pick at, making things much harder than they already are.

"Well, sorry for the heart break, Potter, but you're just not my type," Penance sneers as his friends laugh around him. From beside me Rus makes a strangled sound. I turn around only to find him staring at me in horror. I roll my eyes.

"I don't really fancy him, Rus," I say through gritted teeth. Rus immediately looks relieved, which only adds to my annoyance. Penance. Let me guess, is his middle name Annoyance as well. Well, at least the whole of Slytherin seems to be having a good time with my supposed crush.

"Hey, Potter! Why don'tcha sneak a kiss?!" one such Slytherin asks from two seats away from me, I reply with a glare.

"Oh, Potter, what's with that look? Depressed that your gay fantasy will never come true?"

"Hey, everyone! Potter and Penance sitting in the tree, K. I. S. S- OW! What was that for Penance?"

"Leave me out of it!"

"Hey, Potter! When's the wedding?"

"Hey, Potter! You scum!"

"Hey! Potter!"

"WHAT!" I finally yell. "Oh, let me guess, _you're _the one who's falling head over heels for him, huh? Is that why you're calling _me _gay? I wonder how many times he said no to you, huh?" All this I shout to the boy next to Penance who had started the whole teasing wars in the first place, and judging by the colour of his face and the minute amount of distance between him and Penance, I think I got it pretty spot on.

"No! He's only trying to draw you lot away from him!"

"Oh, really," I reply, unable to hide my smug smile now at having guessed right. "Then why so embarrassed? And why are you so close to him? Or does being friends in Slytherin mean you have to act differently to, say, being friends in any other house, hm?" The Slytherin in question blushed brighter.

"I'm not gay!" He cries as all the Slytherins start laughing at his face.

"Oh! Poor little McDuck!"

"Aw, Quack and Penance sitting in the tree, K.I.S.S..."

Well, at least I can finally eat the rest of my dinner in peace. The only problem is, of course, when I finally return to my meal, it's gone, and in its place springs desert. I slump in my seat. _Oh, well. At least I have more room for desert..._

Two cake slices, a bowl of ice cream and a bowl of treacle tart later, we are all guided to our common rooms. While following the Slytherin prefect, I find myself walking through a labyrinth of cold stone walls and passages, finding memorizing the route useless.

"How could I possibly memorize this?" I mutter to Rus, who walks sullenly beside be.

"No clue," he answers honestly, returning my nervous look. "I've never had the best of memories..."

Finally we reach what looks to be a dead end. As all us start to whisper to each other, wondering if we'll get out alive, the prefect clears his throat.

"Morsus serpentum," the prefect says to the wall, and in response the wall... opens up, almost like a door... Once we are all inside, we admire the Slytherin common room, which is decorated in greens and silvers which shine in the light of the fire lit in the the large ornate fireplace across from us. Grand columns in the shape of snakes slither towards the ceiling, each encrusted with emeralds which shine in the light.

"So, what do you think Potter?" A voice asks smugly from an arm chair located by the fireplace. When I turn to look at the person who owns the voice, who else do I find but Penance. Oh, dear. My first day here and it looks like I've already found myself an enemy. Not too hard a feat, though, considering this is _Sytherin, _after all...

"Oh, it's nice..." I nod my head slowly as I look around. Yeah... nice is an understatement, but I won't tell any Slytherin that any time soon, let alone one who only needs to look at me to threaten me. The prefect sighs as he shakes his head in his annoyance and impatience.

"Boys, you will find your sleeping quarters up those steps and down to the back of the corridor to the right, and for the girls, it's the same for you but of the left hand side of the corridor. Now then, the hour is late, so I think now that you know where you sleep, we should all rest now, and tomorrow, expect to get your timetables." And with that, the unnamed prefect leaves us to find our beds for the night. Uncertainly, we all go up the stairs and to the very last doors of the corridor. Inside the boys' dormitories, I find bed sheets of black and drapes of venom green greeting us upon entry. There are no windows, and the only thing that provides any light is the large chandelier that hangs over head (snake inspired, of course). I walk up to the bed that holds my trunks and owl, who I'd named Swiftwing, on top of it and sigh. Home sweet home.

**A/N: Hello again. Unfortunately, my Latin isn't very fluent, in fact, I had to rely entirely on Google Translate. Because of this, some of my Latin in this _may _be a _little _off... as in when I put in "Fang of the Snake" for the Slytherin password, Google came up with the password above, and when I copied and pasted the translated version and translated _that, _well, it came up with "flying snake"... If you know the proper translations of any Latin phrases I blab out, don't hesitate in telling me...**


	3. Lost

The next morning, I wake up to silence. There's no snoring and barely any breathing, which must mean most of the Slytherins are awake by now. Mumbling, with my eyes still closed, I roll over onto my back, and slowly open my eyes, only to find two large light grey eyes staring down at me.

"Hello."

"Ah!" I cry as I tumble backwards, landing bottom first on the floor. I groan, only slightly embarrassed, shock still dominant. As I lie there on the ground, I hear footsteps moving towards me, and a shadow falls upon me. Slowly, I look up.

"I don't think we've been properly introduced," the boy says, extending a hand towards me while he smirks. "My name is Scorpius Malfoy." Not that he actually had to introduce himself. Scorpius looks like every other Malfoy before him, complete with pale skin, pale hair, pale eyes... You tend to see a pattern after the first few Malfoys you run across. But none the less, my dad told me to make friends, whether he'll keep to what he said once he finds out what house I've been landed in or not, still I extend my hand to the son of my family's ex-enemy.

"Albus Potter," I introduce myself, as I get up from where I'd fallen. When I turn towards Scorpius, though, recognition is strong and immediate.

"Potter?" He asks, tilting his head to the side. "Father told me about your family. Apparently your father and mine had quite a rivalry in their time in Hogwarts," he says with a smirk. I smile back before grimacing a little as his words and their meaning sink in. The last thing I need is one more enemy to add to the ever growing list.

"Yeah... Dad told me all about the time when he and your father were enemies. How is your dad anyway?" I have to ask, since even though our dads were once enemies, dad told me that they dropped the rivalry after the Battle of Hogwarts.

"Oh, he's fine... and yours?"

"Yeah, he's alright." We stand there awkwardly after that, after all, what _can _you say to the son of the very guy who attempted to get your dad killed, which both our fathers had attempted to do over the seven years of Hogwarts, if you could count the seventh one a year at Hogwarts...

"Breakfast should be being served by now," Scorpius says at last to break the silence that had fallen between us, as well as my thoughts. "Would you like to come down?" I shrug in response.

"Yeah, don't see why not," and with that, we walk down the hall and down the stairs to the Slytherin common room, where Rus had obviously been patiently waiting, as he runs up to me the second I set foot into the room.

"Albus! You're awake now! I was starting to wonder whether I should wake you up myself or not..." Rus trails off as he finally sets eyes on the boy standing beside me. Scorpius smirks at Rus' reaction.

"You must be Cancerius Crabbe," Scorpius says, earning a questioning frown from me. "My father and his were... _friends. _As in Crabbe protected my father and received help with class work in return." I nod slowly at this. _Smart guy, _I think, wondering why I hadn't thought of it before, but then again there's an easy answer to that: I thought I would be in Gryffindor.

"Makes sense," I comment out loud before turning to Rus. "Would you like to come down to breakfast with us?" I ask, Rus looks at Scorpius cautiously, before nodding shakily. _Hm. _I won't lie, I don't really understand Rus' reaction to Scorpius, if anything _I _should be the one staring at him with mistrust, with all things considered, so this makes no sense, especially since their fathers had been "friends," but then again, I guess it was dark times back in the days of our parents...

Meanwhile, as I get lost further into my thoughts of doom and despair and rivalries between families, we try to navigate our way around the labyrinth to try and get to the Great Hall. I am only woken from my thoughts of You-Know-Who wearing a dress (Yeah, I know, but my thoughts get easily distracted), when Scorpius finally comes to a sudden halt. He looks around, at the bare walls and the stone which seem to be older and of a different sort to the stone around the common room. I can see him debating on whether to declare the obvious, and I must say, no matter how obvious it may be, I find myself secretly begging him to just keep his thoughts to himself...

"I think, as much as I hate to admit it, that we may just slightly be..." -_Don't you dare finish that sentence- _"Lost."

Rus whimpers beside me, and I huff in frustration. Damn labyrinth.

For what feels like hours afterwards, we attempt to retrace our steps. We return to the portrait of the knight and the basilisk, we walk past the statue of the umpteenth headmaster (most probably some unpopular Slytherin considering his statue's location,) and we walk past the crack in the floor that looks like a banana.

"We've walked past that crack at least four times now," I point out, glaring at that banana shaped crack. Scorpius growls in frustration.

"I don't care! I just wanted to get out of that blasted room and eat!" He fumes, spinning round to glare at us. _As if it's our fault, _I silently huff. "_Why _did our common room have to be located in such an _infuriating _place?! For once I would have _preferred _a tower, because at least I would be able to find my _bloody _way around!" His growling and scowling and stomping continues on, his complaints growing more and more creative as time ticks by.

"And _now _we're missing our timetables and missed our food, and we'll _die _all alone down here, and nobody would ever know the difference!" Scorpius continues, as Rus begins whimpering like a frightened puppy beside me.

"Oh, right, yes, of course! You are very much right, Cancerius! We've got Albus with us! So at least _someone _will know _some thing's _up. So I suppose as long as we are together, the worst that could happen is finding out that this castle truly _is _bigger than first anticipated, and we'll slowly die of dehydration before the first teacher pokes their long skinny nose around the corner first, but... actually that's only the _best _case scenario, the worst-"

"Malfoy!" I shout at him. Rus' tremblings and cries are really starting to concern me. Slowly I sit Rus down on the floor, leaning him against the wall. "Don't worry, Rus," I sooth him as his cheeks begin to stain with tears, "someone _will _find us. I promise." I smile encouraging at him, which seems to cheer him up a little. Scorpius merely huffs beside me.

"One thing I will never understand is _why _Salazar chose to torture his first years so," Scorpius sighs melodramatically.

We sat there until Rus started to feel well enough to walk. He seemed like he had been on the verge of a panic attack, it took quite a while to finally make him see that we are _not _going to die down here, and that everything Scorpius was saying was him being, well, a Malfoy. Scorpius hadn't been too happy about me saying that, "What do you mean 'being a Malfoy?!' But the bright side is that we are on the move again. Thank goodness.

"Albus," Rus says, his voice downcast, much like his eyes which refuse to look ahead.

"Yeah?" I reply softly.

"We've passed that statue seven times now."

I look at the statue of the headmaster. Yes, we _have _passed it that many times. You'd think we'd have at least gotten lost in a different part of the castle by now with all the different corridors we've deliberately been going through, but no. We're still here... Hang on a second.

"Erm... guys..." I say to the other two, frowning as a thought crosses my mind. I turn and walk back to the headmaster's statue and stare at in thoughtfully.

_Salazar Slytherin, Hogwarts Founder, Di- _the rest has faded out by time.

"Guys," I repeat, looking down the corridor we've been walking along for the past however long. Scorpius and Rus turn to me questioningly. "I think we might not be all that lost, at least it's not _our _fault."

"Well of course it is!" Scorpius says, annoyed. "Who else's fault could it have been? The castle's?"

"No," I reply as I examine the statue closer. "Magic." There had been three things we have come across consistently: a crack, a portrait and a statue. The crack and the portrait may or may not have been coincidental, but the way that statue seems to _look _at me... I crouch down and read the statue's inscription out loud.

"We as one call for true friends, they as two demolish our loves, us as three poison their hearts, they will never slither again." Rus, who's standing behind me, jumps back and squeaks in fear. I turn to stare at him.

"A-A-Albus. H-How did y-you d-d-do that?" He stutters, I stare at him, only this time in more confusion.

"Do what?" I ask. Rus shakes his head like as if I just pleasantly asked him to resurrect Lord Voldemort. I turn to Scorpius, hoping that he'd be able to tell me what I'd done. Scorpius only gets the chance to open his mouth, however, when the statue suddenly springs to life.

"State your name and businesss," the statue says, almost _hissing _the words out.

"Albus Potter. I-I'm lost," the statue looks to my other friends.

"State your names and businesss."

Rus and Scorpius only look at the statue in fear and confusion. I clear my throat, deciding to tell the statue in their stead since they're _obviously _too scared to answer for themselves.

"Scorpius Malfoy and Cancerius Crabbe," I inform the statue, which turns to look at me. "They are lost also."

"You have no business to be here, intrudersss. However, I see you do not lie when you say you are lossst. I shall direct you to the common roomsss, and then begone, Albusss Potter, and only return when needed..." And with that, the statue starts leading us in the right direction, I gesture Scorpius and Rus to follow.

"Don't worry, he's leading us back." They obviously don't believe me, but still, they follow along with me as the statue leads us to where we came from.

"Thanks," I say to the statue when I finally see the dead end of the common room, but the statue doesn't even acknowledge me, before it vanishes, most probably back to where it previously stood guard.

"So..." I begin as we walk into the common room, relieved to be out of that horrible situation, but still troubled by something... "What did I do that was so shocking?" I ask, as Rus immediately starts shaking his head yet again. Scorpius rolls his eyes.

"You spoke parseltongue, Albus," he explains, which surprised me. _surely I didn't..._

"You had a whole conversation in it," Scorpius continues as I try to wrap my head around it. "Tell me, what exactly _were _you two saying to each other?" I frown, trying to remember the conversation.

"Well, I read out the inscription, he came to life, he asked our names and business, I told him our names and said that we were lost. He believed that we were lost and offered to take us back as long as we didn't come back 'until we were needed.'" I shrug. Not really much to be worried about...

After a glance at the common room's clock, Scorpius informs us that we had been wondering around for four and a half hours. Rus and I groan at the injustice of it.

"Well, at least we had an adventure..." I offer, Scorpius snorts in response.

"Yes, and at least we found out that Rus is a wimp," Scorpius says with a smirk on his face, which causes Rus to blush slightly in embarrassment.

"Don't worry, Rus, I sure others might have panicked when lost, especially in a place like this," I reassure him, which seems to work, until _Malfoy _laughs.

"Yes, of course," he says sarcastically. _Remember what dad said, Albus. Make. Friends. _I smile sarcastically.

"Of course," I narrow my eyes, not liking having my friend bullied simply because he's a little... _sensitive..._

After a while of staring wars, however, Rus comes up with the brilliant idea of napping for an hour or so, having already had enough adventure to last the day, so we travel up the stairs and through the doors to our room, only to find on our three beds letters sitting and waiting to be opened.

"Our timetables!" Rus exclaims in excitement, as I grin in joy. Well, at least I wouldn't have to _guess _my classes...


	4. Surviving Slytherin House

**A/N: Sorry for the slightly later than anticipated update, busy week at college and whenever I was home, let's face it, I weren't really in the mood to do much (apart from, perhaps, reading random fanfics while knitting a nice little blankie for myself...), that and my profile's been having mood swings lately... Anyway, I kind of realized while wondering about aimlessly on Fanfic that all this time Scorpio's name is really Scorpius, and I'm a sucker for perfection. Don't get me wrong, I _have _read stories with Scorpius in, but I don't know why but in my head, I keep referring him as Scorpio while writing... though you _have _to agree that it _is _kind of easy to see why I kept getting confused, and at least I didn't go calling him Alice or Frank or something as ridiculous as that... But anyway, sorry for any inconvenience, I'll go about changing chappie 3 (good job I waiting so long before introducing him...)****  
**

After the nap me, Scorpius and Rus had after our exhausting adventure, for one thing, we vowed never to enter that retched hallway again if we could, and for another thing, we decided it was time to brush up on our magic. We have time to spare and no one's missing us, so we brought out our books to have a head start. Or at least that was what we _intended_ to do...

"Good Merlin! Did your father _really _slay a basilisk single handed at the age of _twelve_?!" Rus exclaims, staring at me in awe.

"Yep, though he did have help from a phoenix _and _had the sword of Godric Gryffindor at hand _plus _the motivation to save my mother's life and defeat his lifelong nemesis, You-Know-Who..." Yeah, I admit maybe I _do _brag a little now and then, but hey, you may call it bragging, _I _call it pride.

"Wow!" Rus said in envy, eyes turning dreamy, most probably picturing him holding the fabled sword of Godric Gryffindor and saving the damsel in distress from none other than a magically giant snake and its evil master... "That's like the stuff of legends..." Scorpius huffs.

"You know, _my _father has a few stories to tell also..." You can practically smell the jealousy dripping from his voice. "Though my father's tales are not quite as righteous and good, his tales are of the other side of the battle. Being forced to join the dark side by his Death Eater parents, witnessing torture and being chosen to do what is against his nature to do while being threatened with death if he failed..." There is silence among us as Scorpius stares into the distance. It is hard to read his expression, but I can tell that there is fear, bitterness and sorrow. Perhaps he's wondering what would have happened had his father died...

"Yeah," Rus said, nodding his head slowly. "My dad had much the same stories to tell. Except for him, he weren't forced or made to join against his will... from what he said, your dad saved his life at one point..." Rus both has a look of shame and awe on his face as he looks at me, though I don't see why he should be ashamed. He weren't the one that sided Voldemort.

"You know what," I say, smiling softly at both guys. "Let's just agree that the war made a lot of heroes... or, er, stories," I finish quickly with a smile in Rus' direction. Rus immediately breathes a sigh of relief, obviously happy that I'm not going to suddenly label him as my enemy simply for what his father had done. As I said, _Rus _wasn't the one that turned to the Dark Lord. And speaking of Rus, his face suddenly lights up as he looks at his watch.

"Merlin! Have you seen the time?! We've been talking for _hours, _it's dinner now!" He says enthusiastically. We all sigh gratefully. We missed out on breakfast _and _lunch. Already our conversation had turned round to food more than several times. Quickly we all shoot up and race down the stairs to the common room and out into the labyrinth.

"Er..." Rus says, shifting from foot to foot in distress. "Albus, do _you _know where to go now?" I chuckle. To be honest, I had no clue where to go, but I'll admit his uncertainty amuses me, even though I myself am a little uncertain and worried as the memories of the hours spent magically lost floods back to me.

"Why don't we just wait for an older year to come out, or go back into the common room and ask for directions or something," I suggest. Scorpius looks at me in horror.

"I don't think so!" he exclaims, fists on hips, which kind of looks comical, though I wouldn't say that to his face due to Malfoy tendencies of hexing and cursing people for simply looking at them wrong. "Malfoys do _not _ask for directions!"

"Riiight, so you'd rather get lost," I say sarcastically. Scorpius narrows his eyes which very nearly makes me laugh. Oh, I am rather proud of my self control... I _do _allow a smirk, however, as I watch Scorpius crumble before my eyes.

"Fine!" he hisses, I merely smile cheerfully as we go back into the common room to ask for directions.

"Excuse me, do you know the way to Great Hall from here? Excuse me, do you know the way to the Great Hall from here? Excuse me, do you- oh, you heard, well, do you? No? But you look like at least a fifth year!"

"Look," the fifth year says as he smirks at me. I'm really starting to hate that Slytherin smirk. "I'm sorry, but I have more important things to do than waste my time with the son of Britain's favourite Golden Boy. _Some _people have to _work _for fame and fortune after all..." I scowl. That's not cool. I might have famous parents, but that doesn't mean you have to refuse to give me something as simple as directions!

"Look, all I want is directions," I say through gritted teeth. The fifth year Slytherin merely raises a sarcastic eyebrow.

"Oh, well isn't that a shame?" He says with an evil grin. I growl. I've never had much patience with bullies, and this, well... This is just ridiculous.

"Oh," I say, putting on my bestest, slyest, most Slytherin attitude as possible. Perhaps they'll talk to their own kind, after all. "It _is _a shame, isn't it? Because you see, I _tried _to do that earlier, almost didn't come back at all. So would you _please _find it in the goodness of your _heart _to put aside your oh so important project and help me out before I hex you," I threaten sarcastically. The fifth year looks just a little, tiny, ickle bit surprised, before the smirk returns to your face.

"Oh, well, if you so insist," he says, returning my sarcasm. He starts telling us directions ruthlessly, going so fast I can hardly catch them.

"Hm, yes. You see, I kind of didn't catch that, you must have been too nervous that a petty little first year was thinking of zapping you"- here his friends snigger, causing him to glare- "So could you _kindly _repeat that? I mean, if you are so nervous of me, wouldn't you rather be rid of me as soon as possible?" His friends burst out laughing, causing the fifth year to hiss at me in anger. I merely smile back sweetly.

"You know," one of his friends says to me through fits of laughter, "I kinda like you! For a Potter, you're alright!" I bow sarcastically. Yes, that's the main recipe for a peaceful life in Slytherin house: plenty of sarcasm, the odd threat here and there, basically show the other guy you've got bigger balls than them. Due to gaining the approval of the fifth year's friends, they begin telling us the direction we ought to go. Nodding my thanks with a smirk on my face (since unless they're being sarcastic, Slytherins _never _say 'thank you,') I make my way to dinner. As we arrive, I instantly get squished by a certain red headed cousin of mine...

"Rose!" I protest, stepping back to regain my balance as Rose envelopes me in a tight hug.

"Albus! Where were you? Why weren't you at breakfast or lunch?" she demands. I blush slightly.

"Erm... we kind of got lost..." Rose immediately steps back, confusion evident on her face.

"'We?'" she asks, before her eyes settle on my two new friends.

"Er, yeah. This is Rus, you remember him, and Scorpius Malfoy," I laugh nervously as she narrows her eyes at me while the two guys wave uncertainly at her.

"Malfoy, eh? Didn't Uncle Harry tell us how Draco Malfoy tried to _kill _him?"

"What?!" Scorpius exclaims in annoyance. "I'll have you know, Albus' father tried to kill _mine _also! It wasn't just a one way battle, you know!" Rose huffs, crossing her arms.

"Whatever," she says as she looks away in frustration.

"Look, I don't know about the rest of you, but my ribs are practically poking through now. Can we eat now?" I beg, taking Rose's hand and lead her into the hall. Upon entering , I say goodbye to my cousin and make my way to the Slytherin table with my two new friends. OK, I _know _that Scorpius can _seriously _get on my nerves with his superior attitude, and as for Rus... Well, there's really not much wrong with Rus, but hey, in this situation I've found myself in, I'll need all the friends I can get.

"Hey, Potter!" a random person calls from the other end of the table as me and my friends sit down. I sigh in frustration.

"What?" I call back, dreading what this guy will say to me.

"I hear you, Crabbe and Malfoy got lost together this morning! You were gone for quite a while you three, had a fun time?" The offending Slytherin in question waggles his eyebrows, causing nearly the whole table to laugh.

"Don't show any signs of weakness," Scorpius mutters from beside me. "They'll prey on it like a vulture on a corpse." Yeah, don't think I don't know that, I think as I glare in the direction of the annoying Slytherin and his annoying grin. I smile sarcastically.

"Why? Are you jealous _you _weren't lost in a corridor with them?" I say slyly, everyone laughs again, Scorpius just simply gives an exaggerated sigh of defeat.

"No, just stating fact," the Slytherin replies, looking only slightly taken aback by my reply. I smirk.

"Yeah, so am I. Tell me, which one are you jealous over? Rus or Scorpius?" Everyone falls into a fit of laughter, the Slytherin starts turning red.

"Well, no! Neither! But why else were you three lost together if you're not gay?!" But no, he's already lost the verbal fight, I smirk victoriously as the rest of the table shakes their heads at the other's failure.

"So, what? First years must know exactly where to go on their first days in _that _labyrinth?" I ask calmly. "Well, I'm sorry to say that I've only got an average person's memory capacity, unlike you, obviously. Let me guess, top at every subject?" Everyone falls into another fit of laughter at this, I smile what I suspect to be an evil smile. Oh, I see. He's the sort to slack around all day doing nothing. The Slytherin across from me pats me on the shoulder.

"Not bad for a Potter!" she congratulates, I smirk in return.

"My father was originally meant to go in Slytherin. He asked politely to go into Gryffindor instead, though..." I explain, the girl raises her eyebrow.

"Well, _that's _something the history books chose to leave out..." she comments as the other Slytherins who heard my comment nod slowly.

"Makes sense," another girl sitting beside her says, head nodding and eyes thoughtful. These are two of the ones who kept mostly quiet while everyone else laughed at the... _conversation _between me and the little brat at the far end.

"I'm Melanie Beatrice, Year 3," the first girl introduces herself.

"I'm Carla Port, Year 4," the second girl says, nodding her head in greeting.

"Albus Potter, Cancerius Crabbe, Scorpius Malfoy, Year 1" I introduce each of us, point to each in turn.

"Malfoy, eh? I heard your dad was a Death Eater," Carla says, eyes narrowing slightly. Scorpius frowns.

"He was _forced _into it. As for you, _port, _I hear your mother was a convicted Death Eater herself." Carla snorts at Scorpius' response and turns to look away.

"Yes, she was. But before any of you start looking at me funny, she was sentenced to a life time in Azkaban the day I was born by my own father. He'd begged the Ministry to wait until I was born, and he was glad to finally be rid of the woman. My father was a Ravenclaw, though, and the only reason why I'm in Slytherin is because of the rest of my mother's family who _insisted _on helping my father raise me." We all stare at her for a moment, before I nod my head slowly. Then I realize something, though.

"But if your mother was the Death Eater, then why does Scorpius recognize the name 'Port'- your surname. Don't most people take on their husband's or father's names?" I ask, frowning in confusion.

"My mother was already married when she became a Death Eater. Dad refused to believe it until he had the evidence right in front of his eyes of just how monstrous she was." Carla explains, eyes slightly down cast. We all, to fill the awkward silence, turn to our food. Eating this food has to be the highlight of my day. Scrumptious and delicious, we all- me, Rus and Scorpius, that is- stuff our mouths full of the food without bothering with things such as table manners or the sniggering Slytherins. Dinner finishes all too soon, though, and we walk back with full stomachs but heavy hearts. Finally when we reach the large twelve bedded dorm, I frown sluggishly as I enter the room and turn to Scorpius.

"Why exactly are there so many beds? Dad always told me that the Gryffindors only had about five or six..." Scorpius rolls his eyes at my question, most probably mentally filing it under 'idiot question.'

"Because like it or not, we're not Gryffindors, We're Slytherins, and Slytherins aren't separated as half the first year boys in one room and the other half in another, what a waste of space anyway!" I nod slowly at his explanation. Yeah, what a good way of putting it...

As I walk to my bed, though, my limbs grow heavier, and the second my head touches that pillow, I am unconscious from the hardships of the day...

The next morning I wake up to Rus pushing me, screaming, "Wake up! We're gonna be late!" Reluctantly I wake up, get dressed, showered and check my timetable.

"Remind me," I mumble to Rus as he pulls his shoes on, "What day is it today?"

"Thursday," Rus says with only a slight pause before he nods his head, sure smile on his face. I look down at my timetable. History of Magic, first lesson. I groan, remembering all the stories dad used to tell us about professor... Binc's? Lesson. To be honest, you couldn't even call them little stories, they were more like horror tales that kept me up at night (not really, of course, but still...)

"What's wrong Albus?" Rus says as he peers over my shoulder.

"History of Magic. I've got the most boring of lessons for first lesson!" I despair. Rus winces.

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, all us first year Slytherins have the same timetable," Rus says with a grave smile on his face. I sigh.

"It was good knowing you, Rus," I say, fearing the worse. That's the moment when a certain blond chooses to enter the room and check up on us, however.

"What's wrong with you two? You look like you're preparing for your funerals!" he chirps, I turn to look at the unusually cheerful Slytherin in the eye.

"Have you seen the timetable?" I ask, deadly serious. Scorpius nods, obviously confused. "Have you seen what's first lesson today?" Scorpius nods, though a little fear shows in his eyes. "Then why are you so damn happy and cheerful?"

"Because I caught Alma cheating on her boyfriend," he says simply, grinning before pointing towards the door. Reluctantly, I follow through the door, down to the corridor and straight to first lesson, complaining all the way, while Scorpius just laughs as we walk along.

First lesson was the most boring lesson I have ever had to sit through in my entire life. The ghost, Professor _Binns _he introduced himself as, came drifting into the class right on time.

"Hello, I am Professor Binns, welcome to History of Magic, please open your books to page 294 and I shall talk you through the great war against the sorceress, Queen Bellaborne..." It went on and on and on... Sure, he may be one of the more interesting teachers in a Muggle's eyes in the sense that he is a ghost, but to me, sure, he's a ghost, but one that died of extreme old age, and let me tell you now. It shows.

Then we had Herbology. Professor Longbottom weren't so bad, he seems very enthusiastic about plants and the world we live on, and he let us have a mix-match of different seeds in a bag, none of them dangerous, of course, and for extra points, told us to look up each seed and see if we could name them all.

After that lesson, we had Defense Against the Dark Arts (or DADA, as the timetable says in brackets). That lesson was fairly interesting, with Professor Hurshawl as our tutor.

"Professor," one of the Slytherins had asked the second Hurshawl had introduced himself.

"Yes..." Hurshawl looked down the register for the student's name, "Patrick, right?" The boy nodded.

"Yeah, you do know that every Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher before you has either died, quit or been arrested or fired, don't you?" Hurshawl gulped at the question.

"Well, I am determined to stay as you teacher at least until you yourselves have graduated Hogwarts," he'd said in conviction, the rest of us looked at him, unconvinced.

"You _do _realize that the longest anyone has remained a DADA teacher was for two years," a Hufflepuff girl asked quietly. The teacher had nodded.

"Yeah, I know..."

Then after a break in lessons, we had astronomy. The second I walked into that observatory, the first thing- and the most shocking thing- my eyes zoned in on was the centaur clomping around at the front of the room, checking through the desk there. He seemed fairly young, so most probably one of the younger ones that see no reason to stay hostile and away from wizards.

"Greetings," he said once we had all seated ourselves down. "My name is Rontz, and I shall be teaching you Astronomy." There were excited whispers around the class, after all, like with the ancient ghost who teaches the History of Magic lessons (and most probably witnessed half of said history), no one knows the sky like a centaur does, they even have improved vision just to see the skies better.

The whole week started to pass in a blur, Potions is fairly fun, I can't see why people hate it so much, anyway. Charms was also alright, and Transfiguration's... complicated, but by far my favourite lessons so far have been Astronomy and Potions with a dash of Charms. The whole week's been good, meeting up with my cousins whenever we can, Rose tells me that she's met some new friends. Everything's been good, that is until the first incident...

**A/N: Don't want to go about pressuring you guys but... review? Pretty please?**


	5. Fall of the Raven

It's a cool morning in Hogwarts. As I sit at the Slytherin table, eating my eggs and bacon, I can't help but feel... that something is not quite _right_... I look around me to see whether I'm the only one burdened with this feeling, but everyone's just talking normally. I frown.

"What's up Albus?" Rus asks from beside me. I shake my head, twisting around to look for James and Rose. James is busy talking to some of his Gryffindor friends, and I can't help the wave of jealousy that washes over me. _I _should be in Gryffindor! But what's done is done. Dad told me in the first letter he sent that he received a letter from Hogwarts telling him what house I made it in. He's not disappointed, in fact, he says he's proud to have good Slytherin in the family, I just rose an eyebrow at that letter. It's always been the way, that all Slytherins grow up to evil fiends, well, Slytherin may teach me how to act and may corrupt my 'innocence,' but I'll try my hardest to keep the goodness in me. As I sit here, I sigh as I watch my brother laugh with his friends, when I feel another pair of eyes watching me. I turn to see Rose, who offers me a slight, comforting smile. I smile back as she nods her head, smile becoming an all out grin. I know what she's trying to tell me, that things will be alright, and I desperately want to believe her. Suddenly the Great Hall fills with hundreds of owls, all of different shapes and sizes and colourings. In front of me, one such owl drops a small package. Opening it up, I find a small box of chocolate frogs from my Nana Weasley. A smile breaks out over my face. Molly Weasley, much beloved mother hen, has always been smothering us all with gifts and treats since the day we (me, Jame, Lily, Rose, and the rest of us) were born. I look up at a rather loud thud to see something land in front of Scorpius, who calmly begins to open it, when a blinding flash fills the hall. A scream erupts once the flash dies down, I spin around curiously, only to find my vision blocked by students trying to get a better look. I stand up and walk numbly to the place of the hysterical girl, pushing through the gasping, shocked people to get where I want. However, once I get through the crowd of people, I have half the mind to erase my memory, or at least ask one of the teachers to do it for me. What I see is a girl lying limp against the table, still seated, but her head against the table top, eyes staring ahead. I move until I stand before the girl's eyes. Dead. They still contain a strange bright, _living _look to them, like as if this girl isn't dead at all. Perhaps just cursed to lose the ability to move her muscles... But no. This girl is certainly dead. As her blank teal eyes continue to stare at me, I turn my eyes away, unable to look anymore at the pale, pretty face that will never smile or laugh again. I ever knew this girl, and I know I never will... My eyes turn to look at the table in front of her, where they find a parcel, partially unwrapped. I frown at the sight before me. _So somebody enchanted the package with some kind of killing curse... _I don't get to look at the girl or her package anymore, though, because just then the teachers seem to get over their shock and jump into action. Everybody's shooed out and away from the scene, while being informed that all classes are canceled for the day, but we are still all in a state of shock as we wander through the near endless corridors to our common rooms. Once inside, the whole of Slytherin house seems to deflate into the arm chairs provided, and those who can't sit on the floor, backs against the wall.

Nobody in the house of Slytherin talks, since besides our reputation, nobody truly wants to watch a person die.

"Does anybody know who that girl was?" a third year girl whispers. Everybody shakes their heads slowly, except one.

"She was a fourth year Ravenclaw girl. I believe her name was something like Nova," says a fifth year boy. "Yeah. Nova Brendyl. Smart girl, but obviously not smart enough." The shock is starting to wear off, as is shown through the cold masks the Slytherins are starting to put in place, and the dry scoffs others are voicing out.

"Yeah. Not smart enough..." Scorpius mutters, eyes shuttered and expression none existent.

The rest of the day goes by slowly, with us all just thinking about what had happened at breakfast, while having the whole day to just contemplate. None of us Snakes leave the cave where we dwell, we remain in the common room, talking about the girl's sudden death, asking each other what we remember of the incident, who actually saw it and who would do such a thing. Slowly our talk turns to the Dark Lord of my father's time, and people wonder just what this means.

"Do you think it's some copycat You-Know-Who?" a fellow first year- Jordan- asks with a quivering voice.

"Perhaps," comes a voice from the fire place. We all turn to look, only to meet the eyes of Penance. "It could be anyone. It could have been her boyfriend, her friend, a sibling, it could even have been her own mother for all we know. But chances are yes, it's a stranger who caused her death. After all, you wouldn't have to do much research to find that that girl was Muggle-born." There is uneasiness throughout the room as the words sink in.

"So, you think whoever it is might have a thing against Muggle-borns, because _I _am a Muggle-born!" The boy who spoke this- a third year- cries out. There are a hand full of nods throughout the room, their owners looking on with either frightful or determined eyes.

"Yes," Penance says calmly with a slight nod. "It seems that this person _might _be going after Muggle-borns, however, one dead Muggle-born is hardly enough to raise alarm."

"May I make a suggestion?" a voice asks hesitantly from the direction of the entrance. We all turn and gasp in unison. There a silvery male ghost stands tall and proud in Slytherin Hogwarts uniform. The ghost smirks. "Honestly. Haven't you seen a ghost before? My name is Kal, most of you most probably never heard of me. I was one of the unfortunate ones who had Death Eater parents and so was forced into picking the wrong side. Guess you can blame my parents for my present position. Also, don't be so surprised to see a young ghost, after the Battle of Hogwarts, you'll be surprised to see just how many of us there are. Now, let me tell you all now that I knew the Dark Lord, don't cross out the idea that this _might _be him, resurrected, reborn. After all, he was a powerful man with powerful followers, there might still be people out there who follow his cause, it all started with one person, after all. That, or it _could _just be some person unhappy with what that girl might have done, but we may never know. Anyway, I am going to leave now. We seem to have a new member to welcome," he says slyly as he walks (bare in mind he's a _Slytherin, _and Slytherins do not _float_) through the door after mumbling the password. We stare after him for a while.

"Well, I still think it's a You-Know-Who copycat..." Jordan huffs, and half the common room mumbles in agreement.

The next few hours are spent talking about the ghost boy, Kal, and wondering what stories _he_ might have to tell.

"I wonder if he were a spy..."

"Nonesense, I'm sure he was just a stuck up brat with parent issues!"

"Do you think he ever killed anyone?"

"Do you think he did the _killing curse_?" At this point the whispers were starting to get unsettlingly enthusiastic. Makes you wonder about the rumours that Slytherins are evil. At lunch, the food is brought to us via house elf, as is the same with dinner, by which point we are sick to death at seeing each others faces and are near breaking (or should I say _rip, tear, Avada etc._)point.

"Oh! So you _really _think that _I _stole your quill?!" Yeah... the conversations, as you can see, really started to take a turn for the 'what the- _seriously._'

"Oh, well who else could've taken it, you _leech!_" In the corner of my eye, I can see Penance, the patriarch of Slytherin, messaging his temple.

"Did you just call me a leech?!" The second year girl screeches.

"Oh, yes! But you _know _it's right! Look around, Leech, nobody's denying it!"

"Why you-"

"Silence!" Penance shouts at last. His eyes are clouded with anger and frustration as he attempts to calm his breathing. "Now, let us eat, and then after we have eaten, we shall retreat to our dorms and _sleep_." Everybody nods solemnly as we eat our dinner quietly. Afterwards, we all make our way to the dorms, me staying behind a little to finish off a particularly spectacular sponge cake. Once I make my way upstairs, I find the first year boys' dorms empty and silent. I frown. As I walk down the corridor, I nudge open each year's dormitory door, only to find them empty. Finally I reach the fifth year dorm, I open the door carefully to find what looks like all the male Slytherins, settling down in this one room. I frown in confusion.

"Well, hello, Potter," a voice says from beside me, I jump and spin around, only to come face to face with Penance.

"Hello, Penance," I return, only to make the amusement in his eyes shine brighter. In response to my questioning look, he sighs.

"I know you most probably grew up with horrible tales of the dreaded Slytherin house, but let me tell you now. Do you know why all these kids are sleeping in this room?" I shake my head, still confused. "Because they need someone to trust, and need to feel protected. These are the kids who have never felt protected or safe in their lives. These are the kids with the darkest of secrets and the heaviest of hearts. Now tell me Potter, are you going to join us and trust us with your sleeping back turned to us? Because in that room, there are people who feel worse off than you, but the days of You-Know-Who were bad ones, and what happened today only served as a terrible reminder. So choose, Potter. Be a solitary Snake- the lone wolf, if you'd prefer- or bask in safety among us." Penance narrows his eyes at me, as if daring me to decline, but with my head held high, I look him straight in the eye.

"Better go get my stuff then," I say, as I turn to my dorm and collect my things. The fifth year dorms are a full and cramped with people, even though an extending charm had been placed on the room, but still, we all settle down for an uneventful night, and as for the rest of the week, well, mountains of homework aside, and besides Professor Hurshawl's panic attack half way through the week (must be hard to be doomed to die), the rest of the week went by uneventfully.


	6. Speaking With the Dead

I wake up to a bright day in Hogwarts. We have all gotten over the shock of the sudden death and the knowledge that it could be any of us next. After a few weeks of nothing, we have come to expect nothing will happen. After what had happened with the rogue parcel, none of the teachers are taking the risk of another event happening. Now they check every parcel that arrives at Hogwarts, though, of course, whoever sent that parcel obviously had the brains to avoid detection. I sigh as I walk to the Great Hall for another uneventful breakfast, but halfway through my tradition of walking there quietly, a quiet voice interrupts me.

"Hello." I spin around to face the voice, only to find a ghost. Upon first glance, you'd think she was one of the unfortunate souls who found themselves in the Battle of Hogwarts, but I know better. This girl was Nova Brendyl, the girl who we all watched die.

"Hello," I say, just as quietly. I can't help the wave of sympathy that washes over me, for it must be hard to be killed at such a young age.

"I know you," she says suddenly, smiling slightly. "You're Albus Potter, aren't you? Everybody talks about you, they say you have quite the family history," I snort at the comment. _Yeah, if you could call it that... _But still I smile back at her, after all, she's got far worse luck than me…

"Why don't you come to the Great Hall with me?" I ask politely, but she shakes her head.

"I can't. In case you haven't noticed, I'm dead. I can't eat the food you eat anymore, in fact, I doubt I'd be able to even touch the food now. I'll never be able to see my mom and dad, never be able to leave Hogwarts, never be able to hug another living being…" her eyes have taken on a veiled look, as if she is looking into a life she could, and should, have had…

"Look on the bright side," I say, stepping closer to the poor lost soul, "In some ways you can consider yourself immortal. I hear Ravenclaws are very bright, you know. Imagine the things you can learn when you have an eternity to learn it. Besides, you're not the only ghost here, there are others you can interact with, so you won't be all _that _lonely here. Also, those ghosts will always be here with you, or at least until they consider themselves ready to move on…" The girl smiles at my attempt to make her feel better.

"I suppose you're right, Albus. I suppose there _are _others like me I can talk to. Some of the other ghost students held a small party for me when I… _returned…_" She looks a little sad still, but I just smile at her, sympathy shining in my eyes. And with that I say goodbye start to walk back to the hall.

"Wait!" the girl calls, drifting up to float beside me. "I suppose I could just _talk _I guess, tell my friends I'm alright…" I nod my head slowly.

"Yeah, I think that would be a good idea. They're afraid you might have decided to, you know, _move on_." And so, we both walk to the hall together, silence following us along the way.

Once we enter the hall, all talk stops, and all eyes turn to us. Some of the Ravenclaws cry, the Gryffindors bow their heads in respect, and the Hufflpuffs smile softly and sadly at the recently departed student, while the Slytherins stare silently and blankly at the girl, faces void of expression.

"Hey guys. Long time no see," Nova says, smiling slightly to her fellow Ravenclaws. One of the Ravenclaw girls- a friend of Nova's probably- leapt up and ran to Nova.

"Nova! You're back!" She cries out as she reaches out to hug Nova, only to run straight through the ghost. Nova looks a little startled.

"Grace, I'm dead, remember…" Nova says softly, Grace turns to look at Nova with tearful eyes.

"Oh," she blushes, looking away slightly. Another girl walks up to us, staring at Nova as if she'd just witnessed the impossible.

"But… Why are you here?" She asks softly, Nova shrugs.

"I weren't ready to leave yet. I mean, fourteen years old? I haven't even finished school yet! So… I guess I'm here to stay, or at least I'm actually ready and happy with how I've lived my… er… well," she shrugs, unable to finish the sentence, but we all understand.

"Well, I'm just happy you're here, Nova," Grace says, smiling brightly at her friend as she and the other girl gently try to move Nova to sit with them at the Ravenclaw table. Now and then, the odd ghost might join us in the Great Hall, even if it's only to chat to the students, in fact right at this moment, looking around, I can see several student ghosts and few older ones chatting to the other students. I smile as I sit down at the table, thinking how curious it is that even though they are dead, in some ways they still live on…

"Hey, Albus," someone mutters beside me, I turn in surprise to see that I have sat myself down next to another first year, a boy who's name I can't remember and who usually only speaks when necessary. I believe his name is… Talon? Something to do with birds, anyway…

"Hi," I mutter back regardless. Don't get me wrong, the reason why I don't really remember his name isn't because I'm rude or anything, but instead, as you might have gathered, I'm just terrible at remembering names, with Professor Binns, dad only ever mentioned his name a few times, and then started calling him the _Ghost Teacher. _For Whatcha-ma-callit here, I think his name's been mentioned in the register, but I'm normally doodling, chatting or staring into space when the names are being called out, so I really don't know…

"Erm," the boy mumbles nervously after some silence, "So… how's the ghost girl? It must be tough being dead…" I nod absently. I really don't like talking about death. "Funny, isn't it?" he mutters, smiling slightly. "Death seems to follow your family like the plague," this earns him a glare that could melt the hardest mettle on Earth.

"Don't you have food you should be eating," I ask through my teeth. The boy blushes.

"Look, I didn't mean to offend, it's just an observation…" He says this so carefully and politely, but I know from the looks the other Slytherins were giving me when he mentioned about death and my family that he's not the only one that thinks it. They all look nervous and scared to be around me, or at least as nervous and scared as Slytherins _can _look. _Where's Scorpius and Rus? _I glance down the table in search of my friends, and find them looking at me with concern. I smile softly at them before they hesitantly return to eating.

Breakfast lasts forever, but eventually, finally, it comes to an end. Sighing softly, I stand and turn to the direction of the doors, only to come face to face with Nova once again. The other Slytherins fall stiff and silent as they catch sight of the ghost, but she simply smiles softly at me.

"Thanks, Albus. Thank you for showing me the bright side of things." A little surprised, I nod my head in acknowledgment, a bewildered smile finding its way to my face.

"You're welcome," I say as she turns to follow her group of giggling friends.

"Well, Albus," Scorpius says from beside me, "You just made a ghost smile." He raises his eyebrow, his hidden message evident. _Tell me the details! _I roll my eyes.

"We talked and I told her how she should see it as her having all eternity to unravel the secrets of our world…"

"Mhm, of course, Albus. You just tell me when you decide to poke your head down from the clouds." Again I roll my eyes at his comments. _Yeah, what you're implying might take a while… _Though I have nothing against ghosts, even though some might find the idea romantic, I find the thought of falling mindlessly in love with someone who's dead rather… intimidating, I guess. I don't like being reminded of my mortality, and I don't like thinking of how if things had been slightly different, and if things had ended differently between dad and Voldemort, I wouldn't be here now…

Quietly we make our way to classes, talking and laughing on our way.

"Today, kids, we'll be learning about levitation, or in other words, making objects fly!" Some of the others gasp in joy (mainly the Gryffindors,) I just roll my eyes. I already know how to levitate objects! Most of the Slytherins seem to feel the same way.

"But I already _know _how to levitate things!" Jordan whines, and people nod throughout the room.

"Ah, yes, but you haven't _actually _levitated objects, or else you'd be going against Wizarding Law, Jordan!" Flitwick chirps, Jordan just glares back. As the lesson went on, I was surprised to see just how few people got the hang of it, even if they said they already knew the spell. Jordan needed a new feather at one point, and as for me, I got it on my third try, which I was kind of chuffed with.

"Well done, Mr. Potter! Well done!" Flitwick cheers, which earns me a few glares from both houses, I just smile merrily.

"Oh, thanks, Flitwick! It's a gift." Yeah, I think Slytherin house _might _be having a slight effect on me… My little comment earns a few more glares, I just grin in response.

After Charms, it's time for Potions with Slughorn. This lesson he asks us to prepare a pain killing potion. The lesson went normally, some ghosts even floated in from time to time out of boredom, only to be shooed out by an annoyed Slughorn, but then something went wrong. Terribly wrong. Suddenly, while I am slicing my bloodkelp, there is a loud bang, a scream, a cloud of black and then nothing…


	7. Battle Cry

**A/N: Sorry for the late update, with college and the onslaught of assignments an all... But, even though it's a little over the promise of making this story a weekly thing, at least you didn't have to wait a month... or a year, after all, gotta think of my readers and put myself in their shoes and all.**

"Albus," I hear someone whisper to me, quietly and uncertainly. Slowly I open my eyes, and am greeted with a roaring head ache, the light shining in proves too bright and too much on my sensitive vision. Squinting, I turn to the person whispering my name.

"Scorpius," I croak, coughing through the classroom's fumes, Scorpius narrows his eyes.

"Yes, Albus. It's me. Do you know what happened?" He looks around the classroom in bewilderment, light burns light burns coating the right side of his neck.

"I know as much as you do. There was a big bang, a scream and then everything was clouded in black..."

I look around at the other students, many of who are still unconscious, and I sigh. _Why is it that my family always seems to attract trouble? _Of course, this could just be one big accident, but due to the recent death, along with everyone else, I'm hesitant to believe.

People start moving slowly, coughing, wheezing and asking what the hell happened. The moment the teacher regains consciousness, he rushes out the classroom to find someone who could help with those who need tending to. Those who were closest to the incident are coated in very light burns which still left them wincing in pain. After only a few mere minutes, Madam Pomfrey arrives along with her apprentice. By this point, nearly everyone is capable of movement and speech.

"Are you alright? That's good. Are you alright? You sure? Those are some pretty nasty burns..." Both mediwitches go around, inspecting the students, as I stare into nowhere.

"Are you alright?" a voice asks me. I look up slowly to find Pomfrey's apprentice, a sweet looking round faced girl with kind grey eyes, her face framed by dark brown curls.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I whisper, smiling vaguely.

"I... think you're in shock... Just... wait here for Madam Pomfrey," the girl says hesitantly. I frown. _Shouldn't she just _know _if I'm in shock or not? After all, she's training to be a trained mediwitch, she needs to know this stuff... _But of course, this is most probably her first time treating or helping injured students. She looks like a seventh year, or at least sixth year. She's most probably shocked with how young we all are compared to her...

I hear a gasp, at the other end of the room. I might as well be miles away.

"Shannon, you should come here," the voice of Madam Pomfrey calls. Shannon squeezes my hands apologetically.

Once Shannon has joined with Madam Pomfrey, I hear another gasp, this one half a sob, however. I frown. _What are they seeing...? What is so shocking...?_ My minds starting to get just a little foggy. I feel numb, yet caught between crying for no reason and... not crying... It really is an odd sensation...

"Look at me Shannon; I need you to get me some potions, alright?" Pomfrey asks as I slowly look up at them questioningly. I wonder what's so shocking to make the young witch, Shannon, look so white... They start talking about potions I have never even heard of, to cure shock, nausea, burns and headaches along with light sensitivity. Pomfrey then walks around the room, using her wand to check on each student, most probably for any side effects the accident might have left us tainted with. When Pomfrey reaches me, I looking up at her, and decide to ask the question that haunts the very of my mind.

"Why did you and Shannon gasp? What did you see?" I question the mediwitch, who stiffens, before looking me in the eye.

"That is none of your concern. You are alright, there are no side effects it appears, and you are free to go, once you've taken these potions," The mediwitch hands over three small vials of blue, green and opaque white. I take the potion, but still want my answers.

"Please," I say quietly. She sighs.

"Very well, I'm sure you will find out very soon anyway, one way or another." Her lips twitch, before she settles with a mask of dull emptiness.

"The student who caused the accident... I... There does not appear to be any... _signs_ of..." her bottom lip trembles, pain flooding to her eyes.

"Who was it?" I whisper. This person was in my class, in my _year_, I might have known them...

"I honestly do not know. He hasn't been in the medical wing this early in the year yet, so I honestly do not know who he was... Perhaps you should ask your teacher, he might know the answer..." I nod, before frowning in thought. I can walk... I'm sure I manage to look for myself. Slowly I get up, despite Pomfrey's lectures on my health. I walk up to the place where Pomfrey and Shannon had stood before. There, lying on his back, lies a Slytherin... It takes me completely by surprise to see his Slytherin robes, after all, most demented killers come from Slytherin themselves, and so Slytherin house is sort of seen as the breeding grounds of serial killers and Dark Lords... But then, I look closer, kneeling down to the Slytherin's face, and then it strikes me like a cobra... Jordan... The little Slytherin jerk everybody's grown to love to hate (or at least the other houses and myself have...) But... he definitely has _something _dark inside of him, so why the hell would somebody want _him _dead?! He acts about as pure-blooded as Scorpius does... Unless that's the answer... It's all just an act...

"Well this is a small surprise," someone says from right behind me. I jump, whipping around to find Scorpius smirking, raising his hands like as if I were about to curse his smirking little head off, _and I might, after he made me jump like that..._

"What's a surprise?" I ask, a little annoyed that he snuck up on me like that.

"Jordan, who I swear _must _be some rat-snake hybrid with the way he acts... acted..." Scorpius shuffles a little uncomfortably. In the corner, Rus looks shaken, with his knees drawn up to his chest, staring blankly at the pale corpse of the ever irritating Rick Jordan.

"Shame, though," Scorpius mutters as he continues to stare down. "I was beginning to like him." The only thing that gives away Scorpius' true emotions are his slightly widened eyes and his skin, which is paler than usual with just a hint of green in it.

"Yes," I agree, thinking of how the guy didn't deserve this... _Yeah, he could've made a brilliant criminal, _a small part of my mind says dryly. Internally I glare at the thought. _Shut up, the kid's dead! For all you know, you could've chosen to become a businessman..._

_Yeah... he could've made a brilliant profiteering criminal, _my inner voice answers sarcastically. I fight the urge to roll my eyes. These Slytherins seem to be rubbing off on me a little too much, to the point where I'm arguing with this annoyingly Slytherin 'inner voice'... and losing...

Then the situation truly hits home as Rus lets out a soft whimper. _Who's next? Can you tell me that one, oh so Slytherin inner voice? _I ask, fear starting to coil in my stomach, but the voice remains quiet. After all, it only knows as much as I know, right? Or else that's not 'inner voice-ing', that's plain possession... what if I am possessed... What if the next to die is someone close to me...? They sure do seem to be getting more closer becoming personal... though there's only been two deaths, so it could be nothing... never would I have said 'there's _only _been two deaths' before now... what's wrong with me?...

We are all let out, our classes cancelled for the day. After a quiet lunch and dinner, all the Slytherins gather in the common room.

"Today, everyone, we had the misfortune of losing a fellow snake... Rick Jordan, first year, and has barely been here for a month" Lykas says mournfully, voice carrying throughout the silence. "Let us each light a candle for the passing of a fellow student... for some of us, he was a friend, but for all of us, he was a brother." Quietly, we all light a candle each, those who were especially close to him, including his year mates, lit an extra candle. "His family will be arranging his funeral. Those who were present have been invited to attend, whether you were close to him or not, he was your year mate, and so it would be polite to attend, in the very least," with this, Lykas turns to look at me. I raise an eyebrow in return, _of course I'll go, the kid _died_! I'd go for me if not for him, simply out of guilt..._

"Now," Lykas says after a moment of silence. "Do you all know why Jordan died?" he asks softly, everyone either shrugs, stares into space or shakes their head. "It's because he was half blood." There are a few gasps throughout the room; I just nod my head slowly. I'd already figured that as a possibility. It makes you wonder if this sadistic person was truly trying to 'cleanse' the world of Muggle-borns and half bloods, but personally, since my aunt Hermione herself is a Muggle-born, and yet was still the sharpest witch of her year, I can't see why someone might want them dead...

"Now, it's late and I don't know about you, but this turn of events has tired me, so I suggest we make our way to the dorms. Good night, and I assure you, first years, it's not always this bad. Hogwarts is still the safest place in Britain, and possibly the world, the only thing that's changed is the people who are trying to breech it, and people fighting against them. But I assure you, Clearwater's a bright witch, and many smart and powerful witches and wizards have called Hogwarts their home in the past, so I'm sure that whoever is trying to get to Hogwarts' student will have to make their piece with whatever gods they worship, because they'll have hell to pay and a school full of witches and wizards who will fight for survival, no matter the cost," Lykas says, eyes twinkling with the promise of war, and looking around the room, I can see that none of us are unaffected by Lykas' speech, and we all grin with the promise that no matter what happens, we will be united and strong... A lot like in the Battle of Hogwarts, where so many students and teachers, Aurors and Order members of the old Order of the Phoenix. Let's just hope that if the worst should happen, we will be prepared for it, and will not suffer the way they did...


	8. Who Dunnit?

**A/N: Sorry about the terribly late update, we had troubles with the electricity, and when I got my laptop back, I kind of wanted to re-acquaint with it... After that, of course, it was Easter and my Mom's birthday, and I also had to rush a chapter for my mermaid/centaur love story _Of Earth and Water, _available in a fanfic near you. But anyway, sorry if this chapter seems a little rushed, my brain's running on fumes at the moment...**

The funeral was depressing, and I couldn't help but feel sorry for Jordan's family. They blamed Hogwarts for his death, saying how if it wasn't for that damned letter, Jordan would never have gone to that school and none of this would have happened. It was an awkward experience for the other first years, I think because we all blame ourselves one way or another, especially the other Muggle-borns, who all obviously were wondering whether they should have been in Jordan's place or not, but then we'd remember that things wouldn't have been any different, there'd still be relatives in mourning, and there would still be one less student. That and also our Slytherin spirit wouldn't have allowed us to give our lives anyway, especially if no good would have come of it.

After the incident, it sank in that not even Slytherins will be spared. If you are Muggle-born, you're doomed no matter the house.

"Mr. Potter," a voice calls, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Yes, professor?" I ask, turning my gaze from the window to Professor McGonagall- ex-headmistress, and deputy headmistress for many years before hand, she decided to take things easy a few years ago and left her job as headmistress, deciding to focus on teaching the students instead, and handed Penelope Clearwater the job instead, confident in the woman's abilities and ambition. Now she just focuses on her Transfiguration lessons.

"Since you seem so deep in thought, Mr. Potter, perhaps you could tell me why first years are discouraged from transfiguring inanimate objects into live animals?" I stare blankly at her, knowing she most probably mentioned it earlier.

"I-I don't know, professor," I mutter, looking anywhere but at the many gazes of my classmates.

"First years do not transfigure objects to living animals because all manner of things could go wrong, such as permanent part transformations. I mentioned this moments ago, which you would have heard had you been listening, Mr. Potter," McGonagall says disapprovingly, and I feel my face turning red with my embarrassment.

"Sorry, professor, it's just that..." I trail off, hearing some sniggering in the background, most probably from the Gryffindors.

"You just what?" she snaps, I wince.

"I, er, was just thinking about the attacks..." I finish, keeping my eyes downcast. Finally, when I look up, I find strangely sympathetic eyes looking down at me.

"For all my years teaching here," McGonagall says to the class at whole, who have all fallen silent upon hearing my confession, "I had always thought Hogwarts safe from the dangers of our world. However, while Harry Potter attended this school, everything changed. Secret chambers of untold horrors were opened, with the threat of killing all Muggle-borns in the school, even though we pride ourselves with teaching against such discrimination. Then there were teachers who were harming our students, teachers who tried to _help _You-Know-Who, teachers who were Death Eaters in disguise. So now, we do not think of Hogwarts as impenetrable, however, I assure you all, it may be possible to get into Hogwarts undetected, but you will have to be an extremely powerful wizard to do so. Whoever is doing this _will _be caught. All the previous ones who tried to harm Hogwarts' students all suffered greatly, punished with Azkaban or even death, so I assure you, if a practically Muggle-born first year could discover which teacher was corrupted and fight him, or if a second year could fight against a fully grown basilisk and fight off You-Know-Who not once but _twice, _I assure you, if worse comes to worse, a team of Aurors will be more than sufficient. But enough of this talk, you are here to learn, and you do not need to waste thought on such things. I assure you, you are as safe here as anywhere else, safer, even! Now, Miss. Borne, reach the text on the top of page 332 for us, would you please?"

And so the lesson went on, it was actually rather dull. We tried to transfigure a peanut into a button, but mine just ended up looking like some button shaped peanut...

"Well, that was rather dull," Scorpius says as we sit down for a much needed lunch. I hum in agreement.

"How did your buttons go?" Rus asks hesitantly. Me and Scorpius look at each other before reaching into our robe pockets, pulling out a handful of our 'buttons.' Well, mine were all 'buttons,' either button shaped peanuts or plastic peanuts, to be precise, but Scorpius' were all perfect and black. I stare at them, my question obviously evident on my face, for Scorpius merely raises an eyebrow and smirks.

"Guess it's just a natural talent," he explains with a shrug. I narrow my eyes.

"Riiight, anyway, Rus? What about _your _buttons?" I ask, and immediately, Rus blushes before pulling a handful out of his pocket. In his hand, shining in the light of the candles which light up the Great Hall lie a dozen gold buttons in the shape of leaves. Some of them are just big golden button, or black leaves, which I guess are the earlier attempts, but the later attempts are true works of art. Both me and Scorpius stare in shock and envy.

"How?!" Scorpius finally blurts out, Rus just blushes deeper.

"I guess it's just a natural talent," Rus says quietly, making me laugh out loud at the quote from Scorpius' earlier reply.

"Very funny, Crabbe, very funny," Scorpius says sulkily as he takes a bite out of his cheese and cucumber sandwich. Silence passes over us as we eat. In the end, I'm the one who breaks the silence.

"So... Who do you think is killing the Muggle-borns?" I ask, causing Rus to dart a look throughout the Great Hall, as if fearing the killer might jump out that very second, while Scorpius just scoffs.

"To be honest, I do not entirely care who's killing the Mudbloods. I'm Pure-blood, therefore I have nothing to fear as far as I am aware." Scorpius' comment causes me to give him my deadliest glare.

"I'll have you know, _Malfoy, _my _aunt _is a 'Mudblood,' and she's the smartest witch I know," I grind out, causing Scorpius to frown. More silence follows, only to be broken, surprisingly enough, by _Rus _this time a few minutes in.

"Well, I don't know who it is, but I think he must be pretty powerful, McGonagall said so herself, after all," Rus reasons, I nod my head slowly.

"Let's cut the list down a little. So, I don't think it might be Voldemort"- Rus and Scorpius both flinch at the name, I roll my eyes- "He seemed to think it through more, I mean, look at the Chamber of Secrets, and what happened with Professor Quirrel in dad's first year, it's either that or killed them head on. That and also, he would never hide himself, he would take pride in his kills and would _want _everyone to know he's come back from the dead. So this can't be him... It _might _be some loyal Death Eater, though, so that we can't rule out, but the _big _question right now is not who or why, but _why now? _Why not last year, or next year, why not ten years ago? Why-" Before I can finish, Scorpius interrupts me.

"Yes, because if you ask _me _killing them earlier would have pushed the message into the headmistress' head sooner, so whoever it is is either a plotter, who took the time to perfect his plans, was too young back then, which might make sense, _or_ he only had half the heart to get the job done and had only just started talking himself into getting the job started. With all that combined, it really could be _anyone_..." Scorpius finishes with a very un-Malfoy like huff. Just then, lunch ends, and we stand to get to our next class, putting our conversation to a halt.

That night, yet again, all the Slytherins met in the common room, as we all have done for every night each week.

"I don't think the school's going to do anything about it, personally," one fifth year says, challenging the room with her gaze. "After all, it doesn't _seem _like much is going to be done right now..."

"But think about how things were in Harry Potter's time! The bad guys were all caught and justice was served!"

"That was back then, this is now. Dumbledore was alive back then and served as headmaster, now though? I don't think Clearwater would be able to _anything, _especially if it's against the law or school rules, while Dumbledore would have done _anything _for his precious school." By the time the girl had finished, we were all thinking hard.

"I don't think Clearwater would leave this school defenseless either," I say slowly, drawing attention to myself for the first time. "I think she's just a little shocked with this turn of events, after all, she must have thought that there'd be no more need to fear deaths or murders, after all, who _would _have thought anyone else would want to kill children? I think, with that in mind, it's either a really sick person behind these killings, or someone as young as us..." Nervous eyes shift around the room, as if hoping to catch the killer. That idea came to my mind a couple of hours ago, that no sane adult with a heart would have killed an eleven year old, so that left either a crazy (but genius) person, a heartless person who sees kids as animals or something equally low, or even more so, or they are a child themselves, which means that whoever the killer is might be inside the castle itself, which might explain the potion incident.

"But... what about Nova's letter?" one boy asks, I turn to look in his general direction.

"We can send letters throughout the castle, can't we? Use our own owls, and we have free rein," there are murmurs of agreement throughout the common room, before Penance cuts in finally.

"It's getting late now, I think we should all leave to our dormitories, and remember, _don't go out alone at night, _even if you're not a Muggle-born, be careful, and goodnight."


End file.
